puppet power you’ll need: design a shadow puppet with per girl...
TRANSCRIPT
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DeSiGn a ShaDoW puppet With MovinG partS anD uSe it to tell a Story.
The tradition of using shadow puppets to tell stories
dates back thousands of years, making it one of the
oldest forms of motion-picture storytelling. Shadow
puppet theater originated in India and China, where
the tradition lives on today. Shadow puppets are
often used to convey culturally important stories,
such as myths, legends, folklore, and religious stories.
You’ll Need:per girl
� 2-3 pieces of paperboard (e.g., cereal box, shoe box, tissue box)
� 20 brass fasteners (½ in. or ¾ in.) (office supply stores)
� 1 paint stirrer, ruler, or tongue depressor
� paper and pencil per small group
� 1 paper punch � 1 ruler � scissors � 1 roll of tape (masking or clear) � light source (overhead projector,
gooseneck lamp, clamp-on shop light with a 75- or 100-watt bulb) or a natural light source
� optional: decorative elements (e.g., feathers, cloth, lace, straw, doilies, colored cellophane, report covers)
2 +hours
SMart Start: Before doing this
activity with your girls, build your own
shadow puppets. This practice will
help you guide your girls. For younger
girls, you may want to do Parts 1 and
2 only.
Prepare materials ahead of time. For Part 1, each
small group will need a 4-in. square of cardboard
and two cardboard strips, ½ in. x 5 in. Punch one
hole in one strip and five holes in the other.
For Parts 2 and 4, each girl will
need a cardboard square that is
at least 6 in. x 6 in., but cut extras!
For Part 3, each small group will need another
4-in. square of cardboard and three more ½ in. x
5 in. cardboard strips with a hole punched in each
strip. Groups will also need a cardboard disc with a
2-3 in. diameter and three holes punched in it.4” 5”
4”
½”
6”
6”
4”
4”
5”½”
2-3”
1-7 See SciGirls Seven strategies on page 3.
Activity 4
Puppet Power
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Part 1Prototype a Simple Linkage
Here’s how: 1. introduce shadows. Using your hands, make a
shadow figure on a wall, floor, or table. (For
example, make a rabbit head by forming a
fist and extending two fingers. You can find
other ideas by searching “Hand Shadows” on
the Internet.) Point out how the outside edges
determine a shadow’s shape. Can you think
of any street signs that feature silhouetted
figures? (“Children Playing,” “Deer Crossing,”
or “Crosswalk.”) Point out that only the outline
matters, rather than a puppet’s surface details.
2. introduce shadow puppets. Ask if anyone has
ever seen a shadow puppet show. Ask the girls
how telling a story using puppets might be
different from doing a play (puppets can do
things people can’t, like fly). How can working
with shadows enhance a story? (You can make a
puppet look sharp or blurry or change its size by
moving it closer or farther away from the light
source.)
3. Make a prototype. Ask your girls to
break into pairs or small groups and give each
group a cardboard square, two brass fasteners,
and two lever arms to connect. (See below.)
Have your girls:
Explore how one pivot moves while the other
is fixed in place.
Try placing the fixed pivot at different points
along the lever to see how it changes how
much the end moves.
Brainstorm actions a puppet could do based
on a lever’s up-down motion. (nod its head,
wag a tail, chop wood, kick a leg, flap wings,
open and close its jaw, etc.) 3
moving pivot
lever arm
with 5 holes
cardboard
square
control rod
fixed pivot
Puppet Powercontinued
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10
4. plan each piece. To help girls see that a
puppet’s body and moving parts are separate,
work through a prototype together. (Or, to save
time, you can have an example ready.)
Sketch the puppet’s outline on a half piece of
paper. (See Step 1 below.)
Tell girls they want the neck and head to move.
This part is, in fact, a long lever. The neck and head
stick out while the control end remains hidden
behind the main body. To show what the entire
thing actually looks like, extend the lines of the
neck back into the body. (See Step 2 below.)
Now, figure out what the body and moving part
each look like as separate pieces. (See Step 3 below.)
Use a hole punch and brass fastener to put it all
together. (See Step 4 below.)
pointer: Tell girls that this combination of levers
and fixed and moving pivots is called a linkage.
Linkages change the direction, motion, and/or force
of the input force (i.e., the force on the control rod).
Puppet Powercontinued
Step 1 Step 2
Step 3 Step 4
1-7 See SciGirls Seven strategies on page 3.
Linkages Are Everywhere! Mechanical engineers use linkages in all sorts of machines, appliances, and gadgets (e.g., locking pliers, bike brakes, bolt cutters, folding baby carriages, folding drying racks, tire jacks). Bring in some examples to show your girls or have them think of examples from their own lives. 2
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Puppet Powercontinued
Part 2 Build Puppets with Simple Linkages
5. Sketch and make puppets. Give the SciGirls
Challenge: Design a shadow puppet with
one or more moving parts. Each girl chooses a
character for her puppet, such as a horse, dancer,
or soccer player. Then girls sketch the main
body and the moving part on a piece of paper.
Referring to the sketch, the girls copy the body
onto a piece of cardboard and cut it out. They
repeat this process for the moving part.
6. assemble the shadow puppets. By setting the
moving part in place on the body and rocking
it back and forth, girls can figure out where
the fixed pivot(s) need to go to produce the
motion they want. Have them mark the spot(s),
punch hole(s), and then use brass fastener(s)
to connect the body, moving part, and control
rod. Have girls mount the puppet on a handle
by taping it to a ruler, tongue depressor, or
paint stirrer. (See right.)
pointer: To add special effects, girls can cut
or punch out details, such as eyes, a mouth, and
hair, or they can attach decorative elements.
Remember, only the silhouette matters with
shadow puppets. 4
7. test the puppets. If there’s sufficient light,
girls can cast shadows on the tables, walls, or
floor. Otherwise, place lamps around the room
and project them at blank spots on the walls.
The girls can experiment with how to make the
puppets come alive: move them so they walk,
run, gesture, etc. Hold them near and far from
the wall to change their size and definition. 3
control
rod
fixed pivots
moving pivots
Visit pbs.org/teachers/scigirls for more activities!
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Part 3 Prototype a Complex Linkage
8. add a disk. Ask your girls to break into
small groups again. Give each group a
cardboard square, two lever arms, a disc, and
five brass fasteners. Have girls connect them
to create a linkage. (See below, left.) Ask the
girls to compare this linkage to the one they
made in Part 1. How does this linkage change
the speed, force, or direction of the control
rod’s input force?
9. be creative. The fun really starts when girls
combine several elements. Take one of the
samples made in Step 8 and connect a lever
partway along one of the linkage arms. (See
below, right.) What kinds of actions could this
be used for? (ears wagging while sticking out
a tongue) 6
moving pivots
fixed pivot
2 brass fasteners
serve as guides
for the lever arm
control rod
Puppet Powercontinued
Mentor Moment AnnMarie Thomas is a mechanical engineer
who shares her love of the design process as
a professor at the University of St. Thomas
in Minnesota. When she’s not helping kids
look at the playful side of engineering
(squishy circuits, anyone?), AnnMarie
spends time exploring the circus arts with
her two children.
Watch AnnMarie help SciGirls
prototype on the SciGirls Engineer
It DVD. (Select Puppet Power:
Mentor Moment.) 7
Complex Linkage,
Single Movement
Complex Linkage,
Double Movement
1-7 See SciGirls Seven strategies on page 3.
University of St. Thomas, Mike Ekern
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Part 4Build Puppets with Complex Linkages
10. Sketch and make puppets. Challenge girls to make a puppet with one or more parts
moved by linkages. (See below.) They can decide on a character first and then design
the puppet, or they can create a linkage system and then develop a puppet around its
movements. 3 4
11. Discuss your results. What movements could your second puppet do that your first couldn’t?
Why do you think engineers use linkages? (to change the speed, direction or force of an input
force, or to use a single input force to drive multiple outputs)
Watch the SciGirls Engineer It DVD. (Select Puppet Power: Share.) Do the SciGirls use
linkages in their pig puppet? How? 6
12. put on a play. Form groups that create and rehearse a brief skit or story that involves the
characters. 4 Then, perform!
Share photos of your favorite shadow puppets on our website, at pbskidsgo.org/scigirls.
Puppet Powercontinued
Visit pbskidsgo.org/scigirls for videos and projects!